"Men of the Shadows" by Robert E. Howard (1969)

Poetry in the story first appeared in Always Comes Evening, 1957. Text originally appeared in Bran Mak Morn, 1969.

Plot: A Roman auxiliary of Viking extract, along with 500 other Romans, ventures over the wall into Pictish territory only to be decimated by the locals. A few men survive and begin the dangerous trek back South. More men die until the Norseman is alone and facing a horde of Picts. His valiant battle, despite the numbers, ends when he is taken prisoner and nursed back to health. While a prisoner of Picts he witnesses Bran Mak Morn in a magic duel with an ancient wizard, which Bran wins by steady eye alone. The wizard begins to chant and tell of the history of the Humankind. The story ends on a rather esoteric note about the fire of Pictdom and Bran Mak Morn.

Monsters:

Mention of lizard men from Lemuria.

History: This story never saw publication in Weird Tales. It may have been rejected because it is too diffuse, starting as a tale of a Roman soldier, then moving focus to Bran Mak Morn and then ending with a history lesson. Not Howard's best work though it does give us a great scene with Bran and the wizard.

"Men of the Shadows" was adapted as a four-parter by Roy Thomas and drawn by Gene Day in Savage Sword of Conan #102-104, #106 (July-September, November 1984). Gene Day does a great job of making the historical info dump into the most spectacular artwork in the entire thing.

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